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Billy Graham, too, had his eyes opened over the years, and his story is a tale of personal growth. His recent apology is worth quoting:

As I reflect back, I realize that much of my life has been a pilgrimage—constantly learning, changing, growing and maturing. I have come to see in deeper ways some of the implications of my faith and message, not the least of which is in the area of human rights and racial and ethnic understanding. Racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart.

The Jewish community's reactions to the Graham-Nixon conversation spotlighted the dangerous nature of prejudice. When the Anti-Defamation League's Abraham Foxman called the comments "chilling and frightening," he was not playing interest group politics. He was reflecting the bloody experience of a historically persecuted minority that is just now beginning to learn to trust Christians. Thankfully, Foxman was quick to accept Graham's apology. The abundant fruit of Graham's ministry made his apology credible. We pray that Christian-Jewish relations will continue to grow following this episode.

No account of this incident would be complete without Graham's own interpretive framework. In his statement, he talked about sin, judgment, grace, and forgiveness. These are the themes on which he has played so many variations.

Graham clearly views this incident in the same terms in which he approaches the rest of life. These words were not merely "offensive" or "politically incorrect" or "idle talk." For Graham they were a moral fault that called for repentance.

Billy Graham has seen fit to repent of his 1972 comments and ask both his Jewish friends and God for forgiveness. He has set us a good example. The rest of us likewise need to examine ourselves for latent prejudices (of which we have plenty), and when we find such biases, we must resist them, repent of them, and find renewal and grace in our relationship with the God who is "no respecter of persons."

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also appearing on our site today:

Graham Laments '72 Comments on JewsJewish leaders seek meeting before June outreach.

Beliefnet.com has the audio clips from the 1972 tapes, a timeline of Graham's relationship with Jews, an interview with Cal Thomas, and articles written by Richard Land and Graham biographer William Martin.

The official BillyGraham.org site has Graham's statement on "Intolerance and Prejudice Following Release of Nixon White House Tapes."

In a 2000 profile for Christianity Today sister publication Christian History, William Martin said Billy Graham as an evangelist has preached to millions and as an evangelical has put a movement on the map. Martin's A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story is available at Christianbook.com.

Previous Christianity Today coverage of the 1972 comments controversy includes:

Weblog: Was Billy Graham an Anti-Semite? The Commentaries ContinueBilly Graham's 1972 Oval Office comments about Jews have continued to draw reaction from newspapers and magazines. (March 11, 2002)

Weblog: Graham Was Seduced By Power, Say PunditsGraham's Jewish comments: the commentaries are in. (March 6, 2002)

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April 22 2002, Vol. 46, No. 5